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I'd like to ask if the following sentences are simple or compound sentences?

She cooks very well and has a lovely cafe.

Players are careful but they still get hurt often.

She doesn't like art and he doesn't like philosophy.

In the first sentence the verbs shares the same subject, in the second sentence the same subject shares different verbs and in the third sentence two different subjects share the same tensed verbs. So how to differentiate a simple or a compound sentence by just look at the what/who shares what? What is the best way?

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  • I vaguely remember that if you cannot separate the sentence S such that the newly created sentences can stand on their own, S is a simple sentence. I believe there's a thing called compound subject and compound predicate and you may want to check that out. Applying the aforestated “rule”, the first one is simple and the last two are compound.
    – user3395
    Apr 21, 2016 at 16:57
  • A simple sentence has one predicate and one subject part. If the subject (or the predicate) is compound, it's still one subject (or one predicate). Distinguish between nouns and subjects, and verbs and predicates.
    – user3395
    Apr 21, 2016 at 17:12
  • @user2684291 so what is your answer for the question then
    – Mrt
    Apr 21, 2016 at 17:25
  • Read my first comment or the answer below.
    – user3395
    Apr 21, 2016 at 17:49

1 Answer 1

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There are two definitions of a compound sentence: the second seems to be more widely accepted.

For this, the sentence has more than one subject or predicate.

Using this rule, one and two are simple sentences, and three is a compound sentence.

For this, a compound sentence is a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction. An independent clause is a clause that has a subject and verb and forms a complete thought.

By this definition, one is a simple sentence, and two and three are compound sentences.

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  • Thank you. these sentences are original sentences but I ask this question because I was wondering what would I do if I wrote these sentences myself..Should I put the subject again after the word and in the first sentence..would it be grammatically correct ? So I if change the sentences a bit can we re-classify them? For example : she cooks very well and she has a lovely cafe. To me , both clause look independent I mean they make a sense if I separate them.
    – Mrt
    Apr 21, 2016 at 17:17
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    If you duplicate she in both clauses, it is still grammatically correct. The second clause becomes independent and so it is now a simple sentence.
    – JavaLatte
    Apr 21, 2016 at 17:46
  • I think you mean " it is now a compound sentence" am I correct?
    – Mrt
    Apr 22, 2016 at 0:13
  • Yes, you are correct.
    – JavaLatte
    Apr 22, 2016 at 4:34

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